Health Minister’s Book Described as Real-Life Insider Experience Managing Covid-19

The book, ‘Wild Flavours’, written by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, has been described as a “unique publication, and a real-life insider experience of managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica”.

Professor of Public Health and Ageing, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Dr. Denise Eldemire-Shearer, gave the description at the recent launch, held at the UWI.

Giving an overview, the Professor said the book details the journey from inside, from a “key leader” who was operating in several worlds at the same time.

“It is written in chronological order, not in discrete chapters. It returns to issues such as lockdowns, cruise ships, surges, vaccines, as the issues arose, rather than simply writing a chapter. The book does take the reader through the power dynamics and the decision-making processes, and it will be a reference for years to come; 20 to 30 years’ time, this book will come and will be referred to,” she noted.

Dr. Eldemire-Shearer pointed out that the 299-page publication is a “complete account” from a developing country perspective, and also from a small-island perspective.

“It begins dramatically in the first chapter, with patient zero, later patient one, with heightened and anxious waits across the island, on what the unknown and dreaded virus would do to the population,” the Professor said.

“All the way to the final chapter, we made it. But you have to read it to find out what is in each one of these. You will not put this book down. The narrative illustrates that while COVID-19 dominated people’s thinking, other things, real life were also key players. People got married, babies were born. Funerals were a big thing,” the Professor added.

She emphasised that a big part of managing the crisis was containing it, and the “foot soldiers”, healthcare workers who worked the longest hours and put themselves at greatest risk, are documented in the book, as at the time “we had no experience”.

“Early in the book, he (Dr. Tufton) introduces the importance of the public health team, the public health approach. This is one of the most important lessons coming out of the COVID management. The public health team must never be allowed to go back to the back burner. These were the people on Jamaica’s COVID-19 front line,” she said.

The Professor said the book is for several groups; it is a teaching tool for health practitioners, especially those in public health, and in policy.

“Scholars of politics will find the description of decision-making enlightening. Persons in leadership and students of leadership can glean many lessons, positive and negative,” she said.

In his remarks, Dr. Tufton said that a critical issue that annoyed him was the “geopolitics of vaccine and vaccine access”, where some countries stockpiled the medicine to inoculate their populations in the early stages as part of their own strategic security, “while other countries like ours could not get a drop”.

He shared that the critical success of the COVID-19 pandemic response was the healthcare work at the community level – the public health nurse, the community health aides, “the people who wear the blue or the brown uniform every day”.

“I went out with them all the time – they would go out, they would visit the homes, they would educate the people, they would sit with the old lady, they would tell them about infection prevention and control, use a little of the bay rum or the rubbing alcohol. They are absolutely fundamental,” the Minister reasoned.

Dr. Tufton said that the lesson coming out of the COVID-19 experience is that “primary healthcare by far is a bedrock of public health,” because the workers also do health promotion and education, which is needed in terms of the behavioural focus. “I salute them, and the book, of course, is a tribute to them,” the Minister added.

He said that in a crisis, partnership is the “only way to go”, and that while it was difficult to achieve, because everybody had a self-interest to protect, “we were able to bring the country together at critical points”.

While commending the team at the National Health Fund (NHF), led by its former Chairman, Howard Mitchell, for their proactive efforts to procure and purchase vaccines and other essential equipment to contain the virus, the Minister said “we have to do more as a country to invest and cultivate and identify leaders from early, and provide a framework for them to emerge, evolve and to play a particular role”.

“In this case, the leadership that was required, was to be transparent and open about COVID, I must say, not beating up on my health people, but when I joined the Ministry, we operated in kind of a silo, where we were afraid of journalists,” he said.

The Minister argued that openness creates trust and confidence in the public health system.

For Secretary of Public Health in the Philippines, Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, the book is more than just a record of events but is also a testament of the strength of a people in the face of adversity.

“It tells stories of individuals who went above and beyond, of families and communities who supported each other, and of medical professionals who worked tirelessly on the front lines, and of leaders who guided us through a crisis with dedication and foresight,” Dr. Herbosa said.

“In the pages of this book, we find moments of hardship, moments of fear, moments of loss, but also moments of hope, innovation, and unity. It is a reflection of how we faced the unthinkable, the uncertainty but, more importantly, how we continue to rise, rebuild, and move forward together,” he added.

Also participating in the launch were former Opposition Spokesman on Health, Dr. Morais Guy; Mr. Mitchell, and Principal of the UWI, Mona Campus, Professor Densil A. Williams.